Latest USA Headlines

Sep 20 2010 // Declarations – Missouri Department of Insurance Director John M. Huff commented on his agency’s involvement in a pending consumer fraud lawsuit filed by Attorney General Chris Koster against service contract...

Business Moves

Sep 20 2010 // Unisource Program, U.S. Risk Specialty lines underwriting manager and wholesale broker U.S. Risk Insurance Group Inc. has taken over Florida-located Unisource Program Administrators, a wholesaler of workers’...

People

Sep 20 2010 // Scott Brock was appointed CEO of Dallas-based Goss Reinsurance Brokers Inc., the reinsurance brokerage division of U.S. Risk Insurance Group Inc. Brock will work with Chris Turner, president of Goss Re, to provide focused,...

Fitch Revises U.S. P/C Industry Outlook to Stable

Sep 20 2010 // Fitch has revised its sector outlook on the U.S. property/casualty insurance industry to stable from negative for both the commercial lines and personal lines sectors. The ratings agency says that a stable outlook for the...

Sep 20 2010 // U.S. P/C Reinsurers’ Premiums Decrease $12.8B in First Half of 2010 A group of 19 U.S.-based property/casualty reinsurers wrote $12.3 billion of net premiums during the six-months ended June 30, 2010, a decrease from...

3 Win Progressive Insurance X-Prize for Fuel Efficient Vehicles

Sep 17 2010 // An ultralight, gas-powered car that can get 102 miles per gallon is among the winners of the $10 million Automotive X Prize, a contest to develop highly efficient, production-ready vehicles. While it’s not likely to...

Hurricane Karl Bears Down on Mexico’s Gulf Coast

Sep 17 2010 // Hurricane Karl bore down on Mexico’s central Gulf Coast on Friday, threatening to cause flash floods and mudslides, but it appeared to have spared Mexican offshore oil operations from major damage. Karl, which was...

New Orleans Judge Handling BP Oil Cases a ‘Straight Shooter’

Sep 17 2010 // The judge overseeing hundreds of lawsuits spurred by BP Plc’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill brought his much-noted calm, easy manner to the first major hearing in what could be one of the most complex and costly court...

Judge Urges BP Oil Disaster Litigants to Settle, Avoid Trial

Sep 17 2010 // The U.S. judge overseeing the hundreds lawsuits filed by shrimpers, restaurateurs and others against BP Plc and its partners as a result of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill urged the parties on Thursday to consider an...

U.S. Group Health Premiums Rose 3% in 2009; Individual Up 15%

Sep 17 2010 // U.S. health insurers took in 7 percent more revenue from premiums from individual, group and other policies in 2009 than in the previous year, even as the number of those people with coverage fell, according to a report...

BP, Partners Say Most Oil Victims Should Not Be Allowed to Sue Yet

Sep 17 2010 // BP Plc and its partners in the blown-out Gulf well said on Monday that thousands of fishermen, seafood processors, restaurants, hotel owners and others may not yet have the right to sue over the spill, according to court...

Best Affirms White Mountains, Subsidiaries Ratings; Outlook Stable

Sep 17 2010 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a” of the U.S. operating companies comprising OneBeacon Insurance Group, and...

P/C Insurers Post First Half Profit Despite Underwriting Losses

Sep 16 2010 // Private U.S. property/casualty insurers’ net income after taxes rose to $16.5 billion in first-half 2010 from $6 billion in first-half 2009, with insurers’ overall profitability as measured by their annualized...

Tropical Storm Karl Hits Yucatan, Some Evacuations Ordered

Sep 15 2010 // Tropical Storm Karl hit Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula Wednesday and was expected to head into the Gulf of Mexico, threatening Mexican oil installations and possibly gaining hurricane strength. Mexico’s state-run...

AIG, U.S. Repayment Talks Advancing, Sources Say

Sep 15 2010 // American International Group Inc.’s talks with the U.S. Treasury Department over repayment of bailout funds have advanced past initial discussions, a source familiar with the matter said. A possible conversion of the...

U.S. Judge Sets December Date for Health Care Suit Hearing

Sep 15 2010 // A Florida judge said Tuesday he would hear arguments Dec. 16 on a lawsuit by 20 U.S. states seeking to block President Barack Obama’s overhaul of the U.S. health care system. U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson, who is...

US to Host Major Economies Climate Forum in New York

Sep 15 2010 // The United States will host a meeting of the world’s biggest economies in New York to discuss climate change on Monday and Tuesday [next week], the U.S. State Department said. The Major Economies Forum will bring...

RMS Estimates Insured Losses for NZ Quake at $1.5 to $2.5 Billion

Sep 15 2010 // Following detailed analysis of property damage from the Darfield, New Zealand, earthquake, Risk Management Solutions said it “estimates that total insured losses will fall between NZD 2.1 billion (US$ 1.5 billion)...

Best Lowers Macau Insurance Ratings; Outlook Revised to Stable

Sep 15 2010 // A.M. Best Co. has downgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to ‘A-‘ (Excellent) from ‘A’ (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) to “a-” from “a” of Macau...

Ohio Insurance Institute: State’s Insured Losses from Ike – $1.255B

Sep 14 2010 // For some Ohioans, the memory of Hurricane Ike is only surpassed by the damage it caused last Sept. 14 as it made its way across the Buckeye State packing winds at speeds equal to a Category 1 hurricane (up to 74...